SEE IT: Man tries to torch Bronx deli after clerk won’t let him take cigars without paying

September 25, 2018

Police are looking for a man who threw a lit gas canister into a Bronx deli early Sunday after a clerk refused to let him take cigars from the store without paying for them, cops said Monday

A vengeful firebug tried to torch a Bronx deli because the clerk wouldn’t let him take cigars without paying for them, cops said Monday.

The cigar aficionado walked into The First Stop Grocery Deli on White Plains Road and E. 223rd St. in Wakefield at 6 a.m. Sunday looking to buy some smokes, cops said.

He didn’t have enough money — and he asked if he could leave with the cigars and pay for them later, the 30-year-old clerk refused, cops said.

They argued, and the clerk chased him out, cops said.

A security camera recorded what happened next: the spurned smoker came back with a red gas can, lit it ablaze and tossed it into the store. He ran off, and the flames spread on the ground near the front door.

The clerk managed to douse the fire with water, and no one was hurt.

Cops are asking the public’s help catching the arsonist, and are asking anyone who recognizes him to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.